Method of and means for supplying fuel to internal-combustion engines.



w. E. FOWLER. METHOD OF AND MEANS FOR SUPPLYING FUEL T0 INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 20, IBM).

Patented Sept. 4, 1917.

sans a error.

LIAM. E. FGWLEB, OF DIXON, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR F ONE-HALF 1'0 FAME- i? T.

CODE, OF SPRINGFIELD, MISSOURI.

METHOD UF i I Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. a, rare.

Application filed July 20, 1916. Serial No. 110,297.

.To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM E. FOWLER,

. a citizen of the United States of America, a

resident of Dixon, in the county of Pulaski, State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Methods of and Means for Supplying Fuel to Internal-Gombustion Engines, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, forming a part of this specification.

My invention relates to a method of and means for supplying fuel to internal combustion engines, the main object being to recover and utilize combustible gases which have heretofore been wasted. In accomplishing this object I also obtain other highly desirable results, as will be hereinafter pointed out.

' During the compression strokes of an in ternal combustion engine, When the explosive mixture is compressed in the combustion chamber, an appreciable volume of the gases usually leaks around the piston, this being especially true of old engines.

However, it is practically impossible to produce and maintain absolutely tight pistons capable of preventing leakage during the compression strokes, and as a consequence some of the compressed gases usually escape between carefully finished pistons and -cyl inders. These gases flow into the crank case where they mingle with the lubricating oil, thus reducing the value of the lubricant, also mixing with the hot vapor which rises from the lubricating oil. The crank case is usually provided with a. breather through which hot oil vapor is permitted to escape into the atmosphere.

More briefly stated, the ordinary internal combustion engine is so constructed that some of the gases in the explosive mixture are wasted by escaping into the crankcase where they reduce the efliciency of the lubricating oil, and some of the lubricant, laden with these gases, is wasted by flowing through the breather. My object is to avoid losses of this kind by recovering the combustible elements and utilizing them as a part of the explosive agent.

In the preferred form of the invention, the hot gas laden. vapors which have heretofore been discharged through the crank case breather, areconducted from the crank case, and ed with steam, the mixture be ing introduced into the combustion chambers 1n response to the suction strokes of the pistons. An explosive mixture containing a" comparatively small percentage of gas may be supplied to the engine in the usual manner. The combustible gases recovered from the crank case are mingled with the elements of a lean mixture, preferably obtained from a carburetor, and two controlling devices are employed to control the flow of gases from the respective sources to the combustion chamber. In actual practice, I have found that the flow of gas from the carbureter may be very slow and that the speed and power of the engine may be controlled I piston 5 to the crank. A. water conductor 6 leads from the water jacket to a radiator 7. 8 designates an inlet valve for opening and closing the inlet passageway 9 through which the explosive agent is conducted to the combustion chamber 10 above the piston. An explosive mixture of air and gas may be conducted from a suitable carbureter 11 in the usual nianner, through an inlet pipe 12 to the inlet passageway 9 and into the combustion chamber 10. The engine is also pro vided with the usual exhaust pipe 18 for conducting the hot products of combustion from the cylinders.

The engine I have shown is an ordinary four-cycle gasolene engine, and it may have any desired number of cylinders. do not deem it necessary to show all of the various details of the engine, for the invention may be used in connection with various pes of internal combustion engine, althoug some features of the invention are, I believe, most valuable when used with a four-cycle engine.

A fluid conductor 1%, connected to a mixing chamber or filtering chamber l5, extends lir'iti into the crank case and terminates at a point above the surface of the lubricating oil. 14 designates a strainer secured to the lower end of the conductor 14. A fluid conductor 16, leading from the chamber 15, communicates with the inlet passageway .9, said conductor 16 being provided with a valve 17 A small pipe 18, connected to the water conductor 6, is coiled around the exhaust pipe 13, and connected at its lower end to a discharge nozzle 19 which lies in the lower through inlet pipe 12 and into the combustion chamber during the suction strokes of the piston. 'Some of this mixture escapes between the piston and cylinder and flows into the crank case, as previously pointed out. The oil in the crank case is continually agitated by the revolving crank or cranks, and a hot vapor rises from the oil. The unexploded mixture which has escaped from the cylinder, mingles with the hot oil vapor in the crank case, and passes out through the conductor'l l whereby it is delivered to the chamber 15. The hot water passing into the small pipe 18, is conducted around the hot exhaust pipe 13 and is converted into superheated steam which flows into the nozzle 19 in the chamber 15. This steam is discharged into the'chamber 15, the oxygen and other gas in the steam being thoroughly mixed with-the gas laden vapor which passes from the conductor 14. The mixture produced in this manner flows through the filtering material 21 which removes the impurities therefrom, and the hot mixture then flows through the conductor 16 and into the combustion chamber during the suction strokes of the piston.

I-n starting the engine, all of the explosive agent is obtained from the carbureter, the flow being regulated by a valve 22 in the inlet pipe 12, and after the engine becomes hot, this valve is almost entirely closed to insure the reatest economy in the consumption of gaso ene. The valve 17 may then be used as the means for regulating the speed and power of the engine.

It will be noted that the new mixture includes the superheated steam, the unburned gases which escape from the cylinder to the crank case, and the hot combustible gases and vapor which rise from the hot oil in the crank case. The agitation of the oil by the crank, tends to liberate the hot gases from the oil, and instead of permitting such combustible elements to escape through a breather, I utilize them in producing an explosive mixture.

In actual practice I have found that the apparatus and method herein disclosed will accomplish many desirable results. By removing the unexploded gaseous mixture from the crank case, the lubricating oil will retain its lubricating qualities for a much longer period, thereby increasing the life of the oil and allowing it to serve as a highly efficient means for preventing the cylinder and piston rings from being worn by friction. The new mixture almost entirely eliminates carbon from the cylinders and valves, thus efi'ectin a saving in the time, labor and expense w llCh has heretofore been due to the accumulation of carbon in the engine. The bearings in the crank case are maintained in a cooler condition by removing the hot vapor and gases from the crank case.

However, a most important advantage of the invention lies in the decided saving of fuel which is accomplished by recovering elements that have heretofore been wasted, and utilizing them to produce an explosive mixture, which when combined with a small volume of the ordinary explosive agent, produces an explosive mixture having advantages not obtainablefrom the ordinary mixture. Actual tests made by applying the new device to a number of different gasolene engines have in each instance shown a saving of from 33% to 50% in the consumption of gasolenc, the greater saving being effected by applying the device to an old engine having leaky pistons which allow a comparatively large percentage of the mixture to escape into the crank case.

I claim:

1. The method of supplying fuel to internal combustion engines, which comprises conducting fluid from the interior of the crank case at a point above the surface of the lubricating oil therein, to the interior of the combustion chamber of the engine, and

also conducting an explosive mixture from another source to said combustion chamber.

2. The method of supplying fuel to internal combustion engines, which comprises conducting an explosive mixture from a carbureter to the combustion chamber of an internal combustion engine, also conducting fluid from the interior of the crank case at a point above the lubricatingv oil and introducing said fluid into said combustion chamber.

3. The method of supplying fuel to internal combustion engines, which comprises conducting an explosive mixture from a carbureter to the combustion chamber of an internal combustion engine, also conducting fluid from the crank case t a point above the lubricant, mixing said fluid with steam and introducing this mixture into the combustion chamber.

,4. An internal combustion engine provided with a lubricant receptacle, a cylinder communicating with said lubricant receptacle, a piston arranged in said cylinder, and

interior of the combustion chamber, and.

regulating devices for controlling the flow of fluid from the respective fuel supplying crank case to said devices to the combustion chamber, said regulating devices being operable independently of each other.

6. An internal combustion engine having a crank case, a mixing chamber, means for conducting fluid from the interior of the crank case to said mixing chamber, means for conducting, steam into said mixing chamber, and means for conducting fluid from said mixing chamber to the combustion chamber of the engine.

7. An internal combustion engine having a crank case, a mixing chamber, means for conducting fluid from the interior of the mixing chamber, means for conducting steam into said mixing chamber, and means for conducting fluid from said mixing chamber to the combustion chamber of the engine and filtering material through which the fluid passing from the crank case is conducted.

WILLIAM E. FOWLER. 

